As free agency in the National Hockey League kicks off at 12:00PM ET on July 1st, the Colorado Avalanche have work to do to fill out the roster. They need work on both the defense corps and the forward group. With the forwards, they really need to fill out the bottom six, with only Parker Kelly, Jack Drury, and Ross Colton set in the lineup currently. Logan O'Connor is out for the first few months of the season after having hip surgery and that is also a concern. While there may be some players to come up through the system like Ivan Ivan or the newly acquired Gavin Brindley, the Avalanche will have to solidify the lineup through free agency.
There are a number of low-cost, high upside options that the Avalanche should consider in free agency this year. With the top six being more or less set, they don't have to target big names or expensive players for the bottom six. They'd be wise to sign a few forwards to cheaper contracts and spend more on a quality defensemen, as I've discussed in a previous article.
I've broken this down into two groups, defensive play vs. offensive support. I used AFP Analytics and their 2025-26 NHL Contract Projection tool to get an idea and basis for the types of contracts these players would likely sign. Give their website a look as they have a lot of valuable information, especially on NHL contracts.
Defense first
Hudson Fasching
I think Fasching provides a lot of value as a cheap, big, physical fourth line forward. With Logan O'Connor out and Joel Kiviranta still unsigned, there's room for Fasching to make an impact on the fourth line. At 6'3"; 205-pounds he has a lot of size to provide for a team that doesn't usually have those bigger guys. He doesn't put much up in the way off offensive numbers, but I think his playstyle would fit in nicely with guys like Kelly and Drury.
His previous contract was for $775k and he's probably in line for a slight raise, but I would be surprised if he gets much more than $1 million. I'd like to see the Avalanche sign him for a one or two-year deal.
Radek Faksa
This was an interesting name for me to see on the free agency list as I think Faksa is one of the stronger bottom six centers in the league. His production has dropped off over the last few years as he's 33, but he is excellent on the defensive side of the puck. Another prime selling point here is that he is quite effective on the faceoff, and the Avalanche always need help in the dot. I actually think Faksa could fill the 3C role pretty well and I could see some chemistry between him and Ross Colton. If Colton doesn't get traded that is.
Another big positive to signing Faksa should be the price. While his previous contract had him at a $3.25 million contract, this time AFP suggests that he's likely to command between $1 millio and $1.5 million. If the Avalanche sign him, they'd have two quality bottom six defensive centers in Jack Drury and Faksa. That's a pair I'd definitely roll with.
Brandon Tanev
I've never been the biggest fan of Brandon Tanev, but I can't deny that he plays a game that the kind of player the Avalanche need on their roster. High energy, strong two-way play, and a penchant for annoying the opposition are things that the Avalanche have desperately needed. Tanev does what Miles Wood was supposed to do. Just imagine a Tanev - Drury - O'Connor line in the playoffs. That would be all kinds of fun to see.
Tanev's previous contract was a six year deal for $3.5 million, but he's not likely to command that much on the market this year. He projects at just above $2 million according to AFP Analytics. While that's a bit of a stretch for us on a fourth line forward, I think the tenacity that he plays with would make him a solid upgrade over players like Joel Kiviranta and even Ross Colton. I'd probably not commit more than a year or two with Tanev, but I think he'd be a good bottom six guy for this team while it's in "win now" mode.
Goal Support
Adam Gaudette
Switching to the offensive side of things, I think the most cost effective option that has the highest upside might be Adam Gaudette. As the fourth line center for Ottawa last season, he had a career high 19 goals and broke the 20 point plateau with seven assists. He plays center and is a positive in the faceoff circle, and he can also flex out to right wing if necessary. Getting that kind of goal support from a fourth liner would help alleviate pressure off the top six. Ottawa runs a similar high-paced system like the Avalanche, so Gaudette could transition nicely into the Avs system.
Gaudette's previous contract was a one year deal for $775k, but despite his lofty goal total this year, his cap hit is only projected to be around $1 million. For a fourth line forward that can also provide support in the faceoff circle, that's a pretty solid and cost effective addition.
Jesse Puljujarvi
So here's the reclamation project that the Avalanche love to give chances to. The former fourth overall pick for the Edmonton Oilers has not had the impact that was expected of him at the NHL level. I remember paying attention to his play during his time in Pittsburgh and I liked the way he played, but just didn't think he fit in to the system very well. One of the big things that stood out to me though was his speed. Speed is always a great quality in the Avalanche offense, which gives me hope that he might be another gem that the Avalanche can unearth.
Puljujarvi's previous contract was for $775k and will likely end up being something similar again this season. Colorado is likely to buy more than one of these league minimum guys to build some depth and I don't think it would be a bad idea to give Puljujarvi a chance. Colorado is one of the better organizations at finding players on a second chance and helping them flourish.
Jack Roslovic
I mentioned Roslovic as a trade target this past trade season and I still think the Avalanche would be smart to go after him. He tied his career high of 22 goals this past season and had a total of 39 points. This is just the kind of production the Avalanche need from a third line player and center. He's also an excellent faceoff man. I've been hoping the Avs would find a way to bring him in the last two seasons, so hopefully now might be the time. He's strong defensively as well making him a great two-way player.
The caveat here is that he's not going to be as cost effective. AFP projects his next contract at about $4 million and for a term of about three years. This is a big raise over his previous cap hit of $2.8 million. This would mean that Ross Colton is much more likely to be moved as having two $4 million forwards on the third line is still pricy. We already moved Charlie Coyle and Miles Wood and I think the Avalanche still want to build a more cost effective third line. Nathan MacKinnon, Brock Nelson, Roslovic, and Jack Drury is an extremely deep center group.
Pius Suter
Another purchase that might be out of the Avs price range is Pius Suter. He's in line for a big payday coming off a season where he set career highs in goals (25) and points (46). And he did this with that very volatile Vancouver locker room, which I think makes it more impressive. He's another center and would fit in nicely at 3C. I think he's just slightly less suited for the Colorado system than Roslovic, though. He's not quite as effective in the dot, but he's very strong on the defensive side of the game as well.
The Avalanche are definitely going to have to move things around to bring Suter into the fold as his contract projection has him pulling in $5m and likely for three to five years. That's a significant bump in pay over his previous contract of $1.6 million. Since it's likely that the Avalanche are going to move more pieces, bringing Suter to the team is a possibility, but that lessens the chances for Colorado to boost their defense which I think is a more pressing concern.
Colorado's is going to have to be creative in free agency this year, and I'm confident that general manager Chris MacFarland will work his magic and pull off some sneaky good moves. Some fans have turned on him for his handling of the Mikko Rantanen situation. Despite that, I think the rest of the moves the Avalanche front office has made since winning the Stanley Cup have been mostly positive. The pursuit of a quality 2C being an ongoing failure has been a concern but that isn't going to be the case this offseason. And this season he isn't handicapped by the Gabriel Landeskog or Valeri Nichushkin situations. I think this makes it likely that the Avalanche are going to be major players on July 1st.